Hope4Healers is a free service that provides brief counseling to help healthcare workers, childcare workers, and first responders manage the stress created by the extraordinary conditions brought on by the Coronavirus. Family members of these workers are eligible for the service as well. Licensed mental health professionals provide the counseling on a confidential basis. Counselors work with clients in a collaborative manner which assumes that, with support, they can identify solutions to the problems they face and competently manage the stress they are dealing with. Hope4Healers is a collaboration between the Department of Health and Human Services and The North Carolina Psychological Foundation.

If you want to volunteer to help these health care workers and families manage the stress created by being on the front lines of COVID-19, please click here to read the full letter from the Disaster Response Network Leaders. Please click here to read the guidelines for volunteering.

NC Enters Into Phase 1On May 5th, Governor Cooper modified North Carolina’s Stay At Home Executive Order, transitioning the state to Phase 1 of slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions. Executive Order 138 goes into effect on Friday, May 8 at 5 pm.

Highlights of Phase 1 include:

Any retail business may open at 50 percent capacity. Businesses will be required to practice social distancing, perform frequent cleanings, provide hand sanitizer when available, screen workers for symptoms and more.

People may leave their homes for commercial activity at any business that is open.